The changing scene of ageing – to become old yesterday, today and tomorrow

Beskrivning

Program no. 215
The changing scene of ageing – to become old yesterday, today, and tomorrow
Elisabet Rothenberg*
Food and Meal Science, Kristianstad University, Kristianstad, Sweden
*Presenting author Life expectancy has risen rapidly in the last century due to economic growth, improved living standards, better lifestyles and education, and increased quality and availability of health care. The share of the population 65+, defined as older adults, is heterogeneous ranging from newly retired to centenarians. Covering more than a generation, they represent a great variation in living conditions and exposure to environmental factors with relevance for health. Mortality from all causes of death continues to decline. Non-communicable diseases with cardiovascular diseases (CVD) as the leading cause are responsible for the largest share of mortality, in the European Region (1). In Sweden, the key to increasing life expectancy in recent decades is decreasing mortality from CVD (2). Life-style factors including nutrition are important qualifiers for health and longevity. It has been shown that food habits among 70 year olds have changed in the same direction as in the population as a whole meaning better food habits in later born cohorts. As long as elderly stay healthy, they seem to maintain good food habits. A specific diet for healthy ageing does not exist. The Nordic Nutrition Recommendation 2012 (NNR) (3) pinpoints specific (higher) recommendations for elderly, only for vitamin D and protein. To conclude, there is convincing evidence of a protective effect of vitamin D on bone health, total mortality, and the risk of falling, and that aging is associated with gradual loss of muscle mass, function, and strength (sarcopenia). Moreover, that chronic disease might cause losses of body protein by disease-related catabolism, periods of bed rest, or loss of appetite. However, to maintain muscle mass and function, also physical exercise mainly resistance training is needed to stimulate muscle protein synthesis. The ageing process per se is not possible to change, but the conditions causing aging, disease, and death are possible to influence, which has been clearly proven by the progress life expectancy during the last 100 years. New knowledge about healthy food patterns and how to combine this with physical activity may keep older adults fit even longer in the future. In the coming year's knowledge about relations between health and microbiota will increase also our knowledge of how to use personalized diet to improve health will increase. Further on new diseases as has not traditionally been associated with nutrition as for instance dementia will probably be of target for nutrition interventions in the future.
Disclosure of interest: None to declare.

Period	2016-juni-20 → 2016-juni-22
Vid	The 11th NORDIC NUTRITION CONFERENCE NNC2016
Omfattning	Internationell